In the following discussion, certain devices and methods will be described for background and introductory purposes. Nothing contained herein is to be construed as an “admission” of prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to demonstrate, where appropriate, that the articles and methods referenced herein do not constitute prior art under the applicable statutory provisions.
Methods in many, varied industries utilize plastic tubing for transporting liquids, with the plastic tubing connected to various fittings to allow, e.g., two lengths of tubing to be connected, or for one length of tubing to be connected to a valve or spigot. In many instances, the fitting comprises an elongated cylindrically-shaped body with at least one frustoconically-shaped tail portion that tapers from a larger size at the body of the fitting to a smaller-sized end over which the tubing is slid. The contact between the tubing and the tapered end of the fitting must be tight for the connection to be leak-proof.
In many applications, the slide-on connection between the tubing and the fitting is impeded by the diameter of the tubing and its lack of flexibility. One specific example is in the harvesting of maple syrup, where sap is harvested from a maple tree forest and a polyethylene tubing system is utilized to transfer sap from the tree to a container. The current method requires a scissor-like, hand-held tool with tubing clamps plus a significant amount of force to make the semi-rigid tubing slide over the fitting and complete a usable connection.
What has not been available until now is a portable device for heating the tubing ends to temporarily increase the diameter and flexibility of the tubing so desired connections can be more easily made by hand and tool free. The present invention meets this unmet need.